Poker Night at the Potters
by Mavennica
Summary: Ron, Harry, Severus, Draco, and Lucius get together for their weekly Poker Night. Light-hearted and fluffy.


**AN: This was written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. My prompt as Seeker was to write a fluffy story featuring the Resurrection Stone.**

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"Come on, come on, we haven't got all day!" Lucius Malfoy tapped his immaculately manicured nails on the table.

"Yes, yes, I know! Just be patient, Dad, he'll be here." Draco rolled his eyes at his dad's foppish impatience. "Honestly. Do you want me to get Astoria to do a pedicure next time as well?"

Lucius thought about it. "Yes, I think so, though she had better stay away from the polish with sparkles in it. The last time she used sparkles, and they reflected my _Lumos_ like a disco ball."

Draco shook his head and looked to his left as a young red-haired man brayed with laughter. "What's it to you, Ron?"

The young Weasley wiped his eyes. "I'm just imagining your dad in the outfit that this Muggle bloke wore in a movie Hermione made me watch. It was called, 'Stayin' Alive,' and it was a hoot."

Draco was about to ask if the film was training on how to survive a dark wizard attack when Harry Potter came running down the steps with his left hand clenched tightly. "I got it!"

All three men seated at the round table breathed a sigh of relief. "It's about bloody time!" roared Lucius, pulling out a deck of cards. "We've been planning this for weeks."

Harry slumped into an empty chair. "Yes, yes, I know. Well, here we go!" He looked over at his best friend. "Ready, Ron?"

The red-haired man nodded. He raised his wand and made a complicated gesture. "Ceperunt in ea manus!"*

Draco laughed as a third arm grew out of Harry's chest.

"All right, here we go!" Harry placed the Resurrection Stone in his new hand and closed his eyes, concentrating as hard as he could. "The bravest man I've ever known," he chanted, fixing the image in his mind. Once he felt ready, he reached out and turned over the Stone three times. Harry's new hand closed tightly.

A flash of light and a rumble of thunder later, Severus Snape sat in the last chair. He nodded to Harry in thanks and scowled at Ron. "Alright, boys; let's play."

Ron caught his former Professor's attention as Lucius began to shuffle the cards. "How have you been, Severus? Anything interesting in the afterlife?"

Severus nodded sagely, keeping an eye on Lucius to make sure he didn't stack the deck. "Indeed. Your deceased brother is conspiring with a Muggle friend of his in order to communicate with a woman he has fallen for hopelessly."

Ron was just about to ask Severus what in the world he was talking about when Lucius interrupted him. "Alright, enough gossiping. The game is Five Card Draw. Aces are high, twos are wild, and four cards only if you have an ace in the hole."

Everyone put their ante in the middle of the table, and Lucius dealt each of them five cards.

Ron, who was on Lucius's left, tossed in a galleon. "Let's make it interesting."

Harry, who was next in line, snorted. "I'll see that."

Severus shook his head and sighed. "Children. I'll see your galleon and raise you another."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I'll see that, Uncle."

Lucius tossed his platinum blond hair back behind his shoulders. "Call."

Ron and Harry called as well.

Lucius looked at Ron and raised an eyebrow. "How many cards, Mr. Weasley?"

"Ick. I've told you a hundred times, Lucius; Mr. Weasley is my dad. Wipe that smile off your face, you fop. I'll take three cards."

Harry took three cards as well.

Severus took two cards. "How's the Resurrection Stone holding up, Potter? I wouldn't want to disappear right before my winning hand."

Harry checked his third hand. "It's doing just fine. I was worried that the Stone wouldn't work while being held by a magical third hand, but Hermione assured me that since the third hand held my magical signature, it would be fine."

Draco took one card and scoffed. "Well, if Granger says it's fine, then all is well."

Ron glared at him. "Weasley, not Granger."

Severus glared at his godson. "Ladies, if you're done spatting, may we commence the game?"

Lucius grinned. "And dealer takes three as well."

Ron snorted in disgust. "I fold."

Harry looked at his cards, making sure his third hand still held the Resurrection Stone tightly. "I'll bet five galleons." His coins clinked in the middle of the table.

Severus had molded his face into a mask of indifference. "I'll see your five and raise you ten more."

Draco whistled. "Too much for me, Uncle. I fold as well."

Lucius stared into Severus's eyes intently. "I don't know what you're planning, you conniving bastard, but let's make it more interesting. Here are fifteen, and I'll raise you fifteen more."

The bet came back to Harry. "Twenty-five galleons more?" He stared at Severus's stone face. "Why not make it fifty?" Harry's coins joined the pot in the middle.

Severus gritted his teeth. "Impetuous Gryffindors." He surveyed his stack and smirked. "Why the hell not? It's not like any of you can take away my birthday." The dark wizard shoved his entire stack of coins into the middle. "All in."

Lucius choked on his drink. "What the hell are you doing, Severus?"

"Playing poker, Lucius," Severus smirked.

"You'll not get one over on me, old man," Lucius grumbled, counting his stack of coins and then shoving them to the center of the table. "I'm all in as well." He sat back with a smug look plastered on his face.

Harry groaned and looked at Ron. "I'm trapped, mate. There's no way I can let two Slytherins get the best of me."

Ron's face brightened. "Oy, have I got an idea for you." He leaned over and whispered in Harry's ear.

After a moment, Harry sat up. "Brilliant, Ron. Absolutely brilliant."

Lucius sighed. "We haven't got all night, Potter. Are you all in, or do you fold?"

Harry grinned evilly. "I'm all in, plus one. I bet the Resurrection Stone." The table was silent for a moment, and then everyone chimed in at once.

"Hold on, hold on!" Harry waved his two hands and his fist. "Listen, I have an idea. Hear me out. If all of us go all in this one round," he said, making sure to include Ron and Draco by glancing at them, "I'll take the money, put it in a trust for poor Hogwarts students, and give the Resurrection Stone to Severus permanently."

Three shocked faces were his only response.

"This was your grand idea, weasel?" spat Draco, organizing his coins in stacks small enough to not fall over when he shoved them forward.

Ron scoffed. "You're just mad you didn't think of it yourself, ferret."

"Oh please. You and Potty together can't equal my brain power."

Severus cleared his throat. "That's quite enough, girls." He looked at Harry. "You would actually give me the stone?"

Harry nodded. "Aside from the fact that you deserve it, it would make it much easier to get you here on poker night. I wouldn't have to keep sneaking the Stone past Ginny."

Severus swallowed and held out his hand. "I don't quite know what to say."

The Boy Who Lived smiled, opened his third hand, and gave the Resurrection Stone to Severus Snape. "How about thank you?"

Lucius snorted. "That's all very well and good, but what do we bet with now that we're all cashed out in the first round?"

"Well," Ron chimed in, "we could always use crisps."

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***Latin for "a helping hand"**


End file.
